The Noise Of Addiction - Grasshopper

After the addictive substance is removed, what keeps people addicted? - The noise of addiction.

Yes, the repeated use of the substance or repeated participation in a situation is what gets you addicted in the first place, but what initially leads you to that person, place or thing you get addicted to?

 

What causes you to want to numb or abuse yourself to begin with? I believe it's the noise in your mind. Addicted people want to get away from that noise and they've found a counterproductive, temporary solution - Their destructive addiction.

 

Our non-stop, internal chatter is what gets us bonkers. After a while it becomes unbearable and we look for a diversion. Our time would be better spent finding a solution.

 

Abstinence is the first step, but it alone is not a solution. Abstinence clears the body but it doesn't clear the mind.

 

The second step to end noise pollution is to notice that it's going on. Once you become an observer of the noise, you find spaces of quiet. The objective is to get more spaces between your thoughts so you can enjoy the pauses that refresh.

 

When your mind becomes more spacious, you stop getting trapped by the noise. People  often attempt to move away from noise by engaging in more noise: talking to themselves about the noise. That never works.

 

Observation makes you a witness to your thoughts rather than a participant in them. There is no war when one side doesn't show up.

 

If your mind is crowded with noise, other addictions will pop up. The most effective intervention to calmly calm noise is to become an observer. Become addicted to observation. It will get you to travel to more open spaces.

 

All the best,

John